Phosphatidylinositol (hereinafter abbreviated as “PI”) is one of a number of phospholipids found in cell membranes. In recent years it has become clear that PI plays an important role in intracellular signal transduction. In the late 1980s, a PI3 kinase (PI3K) was found to be an enzyme which phosphorylates the 3-position of the inositol ring of phosphatidylinositol (D. Whitman et al, 1988, Nature, 332, 664).
PI3K was originally considered to be a single enzyme, but it has now been clarified that a plurality of subtypes are present in PI3K. Each subtype has its own mechanism for regulating activity. Three major classes of PI3Ks have been identified on the basis of their in vitro substrate specificity (B. Vanhaesebroeck, 1997, Trend in Biol. Sci, 22, 267). Substrates for class I PI3Ks are PI, PI 4-phosphate (PI4P) and PI 4,5-biphosphate (P1 (4,5)P2). Class I PI3Ks are further divided into two groups, class Ia and class Ib, in terms of their activation mechanism. Class Ia PI3Ks include PI3K p110α, p110β and p110δ subtypes, which transmit signals from tyrosine kinase-coupled receptors. Class Ib PI3K includes a p110γ subtype activated by a G protein-coupled receptor. PI and PI(4)P are known as substrates for class II PI3Ks. Class II PI3Ks include PI3K C2α, C2β and C2γ subtypes, which are characterized by containing C2 domains at the C terminus. The substrate for class III PI3Ks is PI only.
In the PI3K subtypes, the class Ia subtype has been most extensively investigated to date. The three subtypes of class Ia are heterodimers of a catalytic 110 kDa subunit and regulatory subunits of 85 kDa or 55 kDa. The regulatory subunits contain SH2 domains and bind to tyrosine residues phosphorylated by growth factor receptors with a tyrosine kinase activity or oncogene products, thereby inducing the PI3K activity of the p110 catalytic subunit which phosphorylates its lipid substrate. Thus, the class Ia subtypes are considered to be associated with cell proliferation and carcinogenesis.
WO 01/083456 describes a series of condensed heteroaryl derivatives which have activity as inhibitors of PI3K and which suppress cancer cell growth.